Beginnings - A new year at Blackwell
by slothssassin
Summary: Taking place before the events of Life is strange, this story tells how Max and Warren met and how their friendship evolved. Will feature lots of grahamfield moments.
1. First day of school

„Hurry up, come on!" Warren told himself as he ran over the campus.

First day of the new school year and he was already late for class. Warren raced up the stone steps to Blackwell's entrance and opened the heavy door. He ran through the hall so fast, he almost crashed into the janitor Samuel.

"Sorry!" Warren called out.

He didn't want Samuel to think it was on purpose. The janitor was such a friendly pal, but he was bullied badly by a lot of other students. Sure, he was a bit weird. Weird, but still nice. Warren came to a halt in front of his classroom. At least the door was still open, so he didn't have to apologise to Ms. Grant. He hesitated for a moment.

"Ready for a new year of being bullied?" a mean voice said in the back of his head.

The usual insecurities again. Taking encouragement from the fact that this was his favourite subject, science class, and he knew nearly all the answers, Warren calmed down.  
Sure, people like that rich bastard Nathan Prescott would bully him everywhere and at any time, calling him nerd or geek, but in science class Warren always felt a bit tougher.

"Don't worry, you still know how to blow up Nathan's room if he annoys you" Warren thought, smiling lightly, and took a deep breath before entering the classroom.

His usual classmates were all sitting at their desks, most of them staring at their precious phones. Glancing around the room, Warren saw his friends Alyssa and Kate sitting in the back, smiling at him. There was a free seat next to them, and he gladly started walking towards it, when he noticed another girl sitting in the back. She, too, was looking down at her phone, and Warren was sure he hadn't seen her before at school. It took him a moment before he realised how pretty she was. Her hair was short and brown, her skin rather pale, and even from the distance Warren could see the freckles on her face. Slowly moving, he tried to figure out what to do next.

"Should I sit down next to her? Damn, I bet she thinks I'm creepy if I do, we don't even know each other."

Warren mumbled a "Good morning" to Alyssa and Kate, both watching him as he strolled behind the unknown girl.

"Sure she thinks I'm weird if I sit down now… but Alyssa and Kate are here so it would kinda look like I just want to sit next to my friends…"

Indecisively, he stood there, when his gaze fell onto the girl's phone. Warren felt his stomach tingle. She was looking at 9gag, his favourite website. Suddenly, he knew exactly what to say.

"Hello, fellow 9gagger."

The girl looked up at him and smiled. Warren grinned too, blushing. She really was beautiful. Her clear blue eyes scanned his face before she answered.

"Hi."

After a short awkward pause, Warren's brain seemed to start working again.

"Uhm…is this seat already taken?" he asked, clearly feeling how hot his face was.

"Oh, no, please sit down." She answered, taking her bag from the chair next to her, and surprisingly, Warren saw her blush lightly too.

"Okay, dude, get your shit together now" he told himself while sitting down. Why did he have to be so nervous now?

"I'm Warren, by the way" he said casually, taking another look at her.

"Oh, hi Warren, I'm Max." Max. An unusual, but nice name. Warren got a grip on himself before he answered.

"So Max… I haven't seen you here before. Are you new at Blackwell?"

"Yes. Or, not really. My family moved to Seattle five years ago, but I grew up here in Arcadia Bay"

"Oh nice. What made you come back?" Warren studied her freckled face.

"Well, Blackwell is the best photography school and I always wanted to be a photographer. And I actually managed to get a scholarship and Mark Jefferson is teaching here so… so I thought it's time to come back." Max finished her sentence breathlessly.

Warren noticed she was twitching her bracelets between her fingers. Did she feel nervous, too? He didn't want to give her the impression that she was talking too much. Trying to think about what he could answer, he noticed the little Polaroid camera on her table. Damn, how speechless she made him.

"I see, you're an artist." Warren finally answered, pointing at the camera.

Max grinned at him.

"Yeah, I like to instantly capture a nice moment and kind of… keep it with me. So I always use the Polaroid instead of digital cameras. So I have the actual picture in my pocket. It's totally stone-age, I know"

"No, it's not, that's cool!" Warren assured her sincerely. He kinda wished she would take a picture of him now, stating it was a nice moment when she met him. Before he could drift off in his dreams, Max began to speak again.

"So what about you, Warren? Did you grow up here, too?"

They continued chatting about different themes and Warren not only found out that Max liked the same music as him, but also played World of Warcraft, one of his favourite games. It was amazing how easy it suddenly became to talk to her. Warren even asked her to play together sometime. And she actually said yes! Feeling like it could be a rather nice first day of school, it took Warren a great amount of self-control to stay quiet when Ms. Grant entered the room and started her lesson.


	2. A phone number For scientific purposes

A week had passed since Warren had met Max. He was looking forward to every science class so far, just to have some time to talk to her. Of course, they had other classes together as well, but, unfortunately for Warren, Max had made a good friend in Kate, and they were sitting next to each other frequently. Then again, their friendship was helping Warren. As he was close with Kate too, the three of them had spent some of their lunch breaks together, so he had had the chance to come to know Max better. For today, Warren had set himself another goal: "Get Max's phone number. For science of course" Standing in front of his wardrobe, he tried to choose a nice outfit.

"Try to find something different than your freaking nerd shirts" he told himself before realising that he didn't have that many other ones.  
"But Max is quite a nerd too… or at least a little bit. So maybe she's okay with it. "

Remembering that his mum had told him to "always be true to himself", he picked a green _Dr. Who_ shirt. It was his favourite TV show and also one of his favourite shirts, so he should feel pretty comfortable. To make him feel even better, he sprayed a bit of cologne on his neck. Warren had never used it before, and for a short moment, he wondered why he did so now.

"Will Max like it?" He asked himself, getting insecure. Maybe it was a bit too much. Although he would smell freaking manly.  
"God, why do I even worry about what Max will say?"

Taking a moment, Warren sat down on his bed. It was no use to fool himself, he knew he had developed a huge crush on the shy girl from Seattle. Maybe he even knew it from the first moment on when he had spotted her in the classroom. Warren ran his fingers through his wavy hair. Problem was, he had never been lucky with girls. Sure, there was this awful first kiss with that girl called Wendy, and sometimes he felt like Brooke tried to flirt with him… but this weren't the girl _he_ wanted to be with. Girls he liked never even seemed to realise that he existed.

"Well, that's different with Max. She knows you exist. She's almost your friend. So don't fuck this up, dude!" Warren took a deep breath.

True, Max was different than other girls he had ever fancied, girls he never even had the courage to talk to. But that didn't make it any easier. Taking a glance at his watch, Warren realised that he was almost too late to science class. Again. Sighing, he got up, grabbed his backpack and left his room.

* * *

A few minutes later, Warren arrived at the classroom, completely out of breath.

"I should do some sports" he thought.

Seconds later, he changed his mind though. Playing games sure was almost as good as workout was. Well, it was definitely more fun. He remembered that Max had agreed to play World of Warcraft with him, which brought a smile to his face. Entering the room, he saw her sitting at the desk already. When their eyes met and Max waved at him happily, his heart seemed to beat twice as fast as usual. It somehow happened every time they met, and he constantly tried not to show how nervous he was around her, although he couldn't hide his blushed face.

"Hey Warren!" Max greeted him "How are you?"

"Hi! I'm good, how about you?" he said, sitting down next to her, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

"Oh I'm pretty good too. I just had a lot of problems with the latest homework for science class." Max grinned at him. "I bet you did it in about five minutes."

"Not really" Warren laughed. It was quite right though, but he didn't want to make her feel bad.  
"Well, I could help you next time, if you'd like to." He then added casually, the butterflies now fluttering worse than ever.

It made him feel uncomfortable, and he was glad Kate interrupted with a friendly "Good morning." Trying to avoid looking into Max's eyes, he waited for her answer.

"Warren, it would be really cool if you could help me. I haven't got a chance to pass this class if you don't" Max said, making Warren stare at her incredulously for a moment. He tried to cover up his surprise with a smile.

"Well, sure, I'd be glad to. Can you give me your phone number then? So we can text and… for scientific purposes of course." he added, grinned sheepishly and held up his phone.

"Of course, good idea."

A smile flashed over Warren's face again. He couldn't believe how easy it had been to get her number. Max even wanted to take of photo of him, to save it with his contact. Again, they had to fall silent when Ms. Grant arrived, but her presence couldn't stop Warren from thinking about Max.

"Get a grip now, Graham." He told himself, smirking "Otherwise you'll be the one who needs help with his homework."


	3. Science homework

Author's note: Sorry I didn't update for so long! I hope you enjoy the new chapter. I have a question for you guys: I wrote out of Warren's perspective the whole time. Should I also write out of Max's perspective? Or would you like it better if it's only Warren's POV?

Warren glanced into the sunlight. It was a nice and warm Saturday morning, and some early birds were already sitting on the grass in front of his dorm. Smiling, he strode over the campus. After a week of daily texts and some funny classes together, Max had asked him again to help her with the science homework. Right now, he was on his way to her room. Nervously, he tried to flatten his wavy hair that always got messed up after a shower.

"Chill, she's your friend. Nothing more, nothing less. No need to look perfect." Warren told himself.

Although he knew perfectly well that he had a crush on Max, she had never shown any special interest in him so far. She sure was nice and funny, but also a bit withdrawn and shy.

"Stuck in the friendzone."  
Warren laughed bitterly before he remembered they only knew each other for a few weeks. That surely wasn't enough time to expect more than a friendship. Although Warren always hoped for a hug when they met each other, felt giddy in her company, thought about her day and night, he still told himself to give it some time.

"And if Max never sees something more in me than a friend?"  
A thought that came often to his mind, and always brought a sick feeling in his stomach with it. But well, at least he would be her friend. Smiling wryly, Warren reminded himself that friends were something he also needed and barely had.

Arriving at the girl's dormitory, Warren hesitated for a second. He had never seen Max's room before, and he tried to picture it by what he knew about her so far. Lost in his thoughts, he almost bumped into Brooke. She was standing in front of her room, looking pretty annoyed.

"Watch your step, Warren." She greeted him, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry Brooke. How are you? Why are you already up?" he asked, remembering that the girl usually slept in.

They had met often on weekends to work on science projects, and he had always been a bit irritated by the fact that they could never start before 1pm because Brooke needed her "beauty sleep".

"I got up. I wasn't tired, so…" Brooke answered evasively.

Warren noticed the dark circles around her eyes and grinned. He'd never call her a very close friend, but he knew her well enough to know she was lying.

"Oh come on Brooke, I know you. It's 9am, normally you'd still be sleeping happily." He laughed.

"Yeah okay, you're right." Brooke admitted, her eyes focused on a spot next to Warren's head. "I… I just wanted to talk to you Warren. You didn't answer my text."

With a tiny glimpse of guilt, Warren remembered she had sent him a message. He had wanted to reply to it "a bit later", because he had been chatting lively with Max at this time. Well, now it was too late. He didn't know what to say for a moment, so Brooke began to speak again.

"You know, the message about doing the next science project together. And I told you about that _Planet of the Apes_ – Marathon."  
"Yeah, okay, I remember…" Warren said, although he didn't remember it at all. Hesitantly, he added:  
"But I'm going to do that science project with Max. Sorry, but she needs my help."

Brooke's eyebrows contracted.

"Well, then, go on and work with Max. But don't complain to me if you have to do everything. She knows nothing about science." She said, sounding angry and turning to open her door.

With her hand on the doorknob, Brooke hesitated, before she started to speak again, but this time in a much nicer tone of voice than before.

"And tell me what you think about that _Planet of the Apes_ – Marathon. We could go there together."

"Yeah, uhm… maybe. I'll text you." Warren answered slowly before making his way to Max's room.

He knew for sure he wouldn't go with Brooke to the drive-in. Although he liked her, she surely was a bit demanding sometimes. Also he wondered why she even knew he was at the girl's dormitory today. Perhaps it was just a coincidence? But she had said she wanted to talk to him… And that drive-in? Well, maybe Max would like to come with him? Should he ask her? But this would certainly feel much more like a date than doing homework together. Warren tried to imagine sitting in a car with Max, watching a great movie, and felt the oh-so-familiar butterflies in his stomach again. How could he properly ask her out, without sounding like a creep? Maybe spending this Saturday morning together would offer him an opportunity.

"Or maybe I'll just send her a text later..." Warren thought, knocking on the door.

Max opened almost immediately.

"Hey, Warren, come in!"

Hoping that he would find the courage to ask her out, Warren entered the room and looked around. It was pretty much as he had imagined it, and it made him a bit proud that he had pictured Max's room correctly. It was nice and bright, the sun shining on a big plant standing in front of the window. The flower pot was marked with "Lisa", which made Warren giggle. Max had hung up a lot of her own Polaroids on the wall next to her bed, decorated with holiday lights. Warren took a closer look. Her pictures were really good. He decided to tell her so, but when he opened his mouth, it was Max who started to speak.

"I'm so glad you're here to help me, Warren. I really need someone to explain all this science stuff to me." Sitting down at her desk, she smiled at Warren.

"I asked Kate for a second chair cause I only have one. Sit down, please."

"She's so friendly, isn't she?" Warren said, shifting his seat closer to the desk. After they chatted a bit about people, school and recent events, he remembered why he was actually here.

"So, let's start with the first exercise, shall we?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" Max answered, but kept watching him while he unpacked his science book, smiling lightly.

Time passed by quickly while the two of them worked on their homework. Max surely needed a lot of help, as she didn't even understood the basics. But she really tried to follow Warren's patient explanations, and was highly motivated for a Saturday morning. Warren for himself had a hard time writing down his own results as he couldn't really concentrate. He often caught himself watching Max, studying her pretty face and thinking about actually going out with her. Would she say yes if he just asked her now? As Max lifted her head and smiled at him, he felt his heartbeat fasten. Maybe he should better wait? Cursing his lack of courage, he continued writing down their results.  
Half an hour later, they finally finished all of their exercises. Warren stretched himself and had a good yawn.

"Ohh are you tired, Warren? I'm sorry if you had to get up early for me." Max laughed.

"No, that's alright, Max. I'll always get up around this time." Warren answered, trying not to yawn again. "I guess I just need some fresh air or something."

"Thanks again for helping me. I think I even understood a bit of the homework." Max said, putting her hand on Warren's arm. His cheeks flushed almost immediately.

"I'm sure you did, Super Max!" Warren smiled at her, trying to hide his awkwardness. His thoughts were still circling around the idea of going out with her.  
Max laughed again.

"Super Max? I like that." She pushed her homework away and looked at him "You know what? Let's go grab a coffee. On me, for your help."

There they were again, the butterflies. Was he just imagining it, or did Max's cheeks turn a bit red too? Grinning, Warren nodded. What a good start for this day. Maybe asking her out to the drive-in wasn't such a bad idea at all. Or, maybe, he should ask her first if they could work on the next science project together, as he already told Brooke so.

"Yep dude, take some small steps." He told himself happily as they walked out of Max's room.


	4. So what about Max?

Max silently packed the books in her bag. The bell had just gone, and it was time to leave Mr. Jefferson's classroom. She really wished she could stay there all day, just listening to her favourite teacher talk about photography. He was so talented and cool! Max glimpsed at him, grinning lightly.

"If I just weren't that goddamn shy." She told herself "Then I'd just go over there and chat with him a bit."

Taking her Polaroid camera from the table, Max looked up for the second time, and her mood immediately changed. Victoria was talking to Mr. Jefferson. Again!

"She's so obviously into him." Max thought, getting up from her chair "It's almost embarrassing how she tries to flirt with him."

Leaving the classroom, she could almost feel Victoria watching her. Max scowled. Victoria had everything! A lot of money, friends, pretty good grades, and, she had to admit, a talent for photography. So why did she always try to tease Max? They had never really talked to each other, but from the first time on when they had met at school, Victoria had decided that Max wasn't cool enough to be liked by anyone. Her snarky comments in front of everybody, the constant tattering and the fact that Victoria was good at almost everything made Max really hate the classes sometimes.  
Lost in her thoughts, Max left Blackwell Academy and headed towards the dorms. She had almost crossed the campus when she heard someone call her name.

"Max! Hey, Max!"

It was Warren, running towards her. He was wearing an exceptionally dorky t-shirt today, showing two men fighting each other with… well it seemed to be electricity. It took Max a moment to realise that the little comic showed Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. She almost laughed out loud. Warren really was a nerd. A cute nerd.

"Wait, what did I just think?" Max asked herself and her face went pink.

"Are you alright Max?" Warren asked in a breathless voice. "You look worried."

"It's nothing, I just - … Victoria again."

"Oh no… What did she do today?"

"Nothing in particular. She's just annoying."

"I know, I know… Just like her friend Nathan. I had another of those nice posters on my door today."

"Oh Warren, I'm sorry. That's so mean."

Remembering the awful posters Warren had once shown her, Max felt anger rise inside her.

"This stupid Nathan Prescock. I just hate him and Victoria "I'm-so-hip-and-beautiful" Chase."

"Whoa Max, I've never heard you talk like that, but thanks for the sympathy." Warren laughed.

"Sorry, I let myself go" Max said and joined his laughter.

She studied Warren's face while they walked towards the dorms in silence. Wondering how he could handle all the bullying the whole time, another thought came to her mind. He was a really handsome guy. Why didn't she notice that before? Maybe because the sun was enhancing his facial features right now, or was it the way he run his fingers through his dark brown hair or… Their eyes met and Max quickly looked away.

"You know Warren, let's take a break from all this bullshit here. Let's go and get something to eat later, shall we?"

Warren seemed mildly surprised, but still smiled at her.

"Yes, that's sounds like a great idea. We could take the bus at 6pm?"

"Alright, meet me in front of the dorm then."

"Awesome. I just wished I had a car. That would be way cooler."

"Haha keep on dreaming Warren. See you later!"

Max waved at him and entered the girl's dormitory. Trying to avoid anybody, she just exchanged a few words with Dana before she finally closed the door to her room. Max sat down on her bed and took off her shoes, when her phone rang. A new message from Warren. She had to smile lightly. They had just said goodbye a few minutes ago, and he was texting again.

 _Yo Max, what do you think about the Two Whales Diner? Ever been there? It's cool, you'll see!_

"The Two Whales Diner? Sounds way too familiar." Max thought.

More than five years had passed since she had been there the last time. She wondered if Joyce would still work there. But five years were such a long time… Surely she had found something else?! Answering that the _Two Whales_ would be okay, Max lay down on her bed to take a short nap.

* * *

Short? Did she really think she would take a short nap? Opening her eyes again and looking at the clock, Max almost fell out of her bed. Only fifteen minutes left before she would meet Warren? That must be a joke, right?

"Ah damn, I wish I could rewind time." Max thought, getting up from her bed in a hurry and rushing towards her wardrobe.

"What should I wear? Shit, I wanted to take a shower…"

Furiously, Max grabbed a few shirts and looked at them. One with a doe on it, a butterfly, a meme, and a doe again?

"I need something special, I want to look good." Max hesitated before she took a colourful top from the back of her wardrobe.

"I want to look good? Oh dear…" Taking a glance at herself in the mirror, Max fully realised what she had just thought.

"What's up with me, Warren is a friend, not more…"

She couldn't deny that she had thought of him as 'handsome' earlier that day though. The first weeks when they had started to learn together, she had felt lucky to have made a good friend in him. But when she thought about Warren now, a tingling sensation filled her stomach, and realising that she might see a bit more in him, she felt the heat crawl up her neck and her cheeks started to burn.

"Oh shit Max, did you really fall for him?" Her sudden realisation made her almost laugh. Or was it such a sudden realisation? Thinking about it, she remembered how she had blushed when he had asked her to work on the next science project together. Or how she had felt so inexplicably jealous when Brooke had told her she planned on going to the drive-in with Warren. Smirking for no reason, Max wiped some strands of hair out of her face. So was this a date now? Did Warren think it was a date? No, for him it was surely just hanging out with a friend… Another look at the clock made her jump.

"Ten minutes left till 6pm? I should hurry up." Choosing her outfit not as carefully as she had planned to do, Max looked at herself in the mirror again.

"Okay, okay, calm down Max. Maybe you're just overreacting. Stay calm, it's not a date, it's just two friends eating together."

Taking her bag from the floor, Max left the room, her thoughts confused, but focused on the evening she would spend with Warren.

.


	5. The Two Whales Diner?

_Author's note: Thanks for all your kind reviews! I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I'll be on vacation soon and I'm not sure whether I'll have internet access there. For news, art and updates, you can visit me on tumblr (it's 'slothssassin' as well). Thanks for reading and I hope you'll like the new chapter! :)_

Max stepped outside and shut the door behind her. Squinting at the setting sun, she noticed Warren waiting for her next to the boy's dormitory and her heart beat nervously. Walking towards him seemed to take forever and Max suddenly asked herself how she looked like. Surely she must look stupid, she didn't know where to put her arms at and the wind was blowing her hair in every direction. Warren was smiling at her when she finally reached him.

"Hey, Max."

"Hi..."

Max hesitated for a moment. She just realised she had never hugged him before. But technically, this wasn't doing homework or meeting at class, nothing school related. This was different. And didn't friends, or whatever she saw in Warren now, hug each other? After a short and quite awkward silence, Warren started talking about how he hated taking the bus and that he really wanted a car, even if it would be the shittiest car on earth, while Max was still fighting with herself.

"A simple hug Max. As if it would be that hard..."

Normally, she had absolutely no problem with hugging her friends. She had been really shy and awkward around boys she liked more than that, though. So, was this a proof for her feelings towards Warren? Damn, only thinking about it made her feel woozy. They had started walking next to each other and Max, cursing how damn shy she was, decided it would be definitely too late for a hug now. But maybe later, when they'd come back? Maybe to say goodbye? Yes, that would be fine too. For now it would be better to just forget about it and to start listening to what Warren was actually telling her. It was a few seconds too late, though. He was looking at her as if he was waiting for a reaction.

"Oh sorry Warren, I was... I just thought about something." Max apologised.

Warren looked slightly hurt for a second, but started to laugh it off quickly.

"It's okay. I just asked you what you think about the Vortex Club party this Thursday."

"Uhm, I don't know. I wouldn't say I like the Vortex Club with Victoria and Nathan and all those other brainless gits."

Max was a bit startled by this question. Why on earth would Warren want to go to a Vortex Club party? He answered her question quicker than she could actually ask it.

"Well I thought it might be fun to dance a bit." Grinning, he looked at Max "I thought maybe you'd like that, too."

Max had to laugh.

"Warren, I'm not really a good dancer. But I like to imagine you, partying on the dance floor. I bet you have some... sick moves."

They both chuckled.

"I just heard that even Kate wants to go there..." Warren continued as they reached the bus station.

"Kate? At a Vortex Club party?" Max looked puzzled. "But why? She hates all those people."

"I don't know." Warren seemed quite confused "I wondered why she wants to go there too. She said something about 'stop being shy or alone' and 'try something new'. But Max, I don't like the idea of her going to that party without anyone else. Maybe we should talk to her or go with her, I don't know."

The bus arrived and interrupted their conversation for a minute. Time enough for Max to think about how cute it was that Warren was so worried for his friend. But sure, he was quite right. They sat next to each other in silence for a minute. The bus was empty, and the sun was shining behind the lighthouse. How often she had played with Chloe there... Max could clearly feel Warren's warm tight next to her own. Had they ever sat that close to each other? Her stomach felt like it was filled with bees. Or maybe butterflies? It was definitely time to continue the conversation they just had, so she could think about something else than Warren's handsome face or the weird feeling she got when their eyes met.

"I'll talk to Kate when I see her, okay? I don't want to go to that party, but I also don't want her to go."

"Yeah okay, that's good." Warren answered and smiled at her.

Arriving at the Two Whales Diner, Max hesitated while getting out of the bus. She didn't know what to do if Joyce was in there. She couldn't just go in and say hello. Not after five years. Walking slowly on the pavement, Max glimpsed through the window. She wasn't even surprised that Joyce was really standing behind the bar, still exactly looking like she had a few years ago.

"Oh damn, I should have known it." Max thought.

Seeing Joyce made her feel uneasy. How would Chloe look after those years? Would she still look the same, just like her mum? Struggling with words, she jerked to a halt.

"I can't go in there. I need more time…"

Warren, who had been walking in front of her, turned around.

"What's wrong, Max?" he asked "I know it's not the prettiest from the outside, but the dishes are great!"

"I know, Warren…"

"Really? You've been there already? Man, and I thought I'd show you one of my secret and favourite places." He sounded quite disappointed.

"Yeah well… I've been here often when I was younger. And that's the point…"

Max didn't know what to say. Should she tell Warren about Chloe? But what would he think of her if he knew she just left her 'best friend forever' for years and never tried to contact her again?

"I… can we just go somewhere else? That would be great."

Warren looked puzzled.

"But you said the Two Whales..." He seemed to change his mind while answering. "Yeah sure Max, then let's go somewhere else."

Worrying that she might have offended or snubbed him, Max grabbed his arm and pulled him out of Joyce's possible field of view. She had a hard time keeping their eye-contact because her cheeks were burning like fire again. But it was dark and she wanted him to understand, so Max kept looking in his dark brown eyes.

"I'll explain it to you later, okay? Maybe you could show me another one of your favourite places?"

Her question made Warren smile brightly. He touched the back of his neck, like he did so often, and laughed.

"Well okay, Super Max. I hope you're ready, because I'll show you the most beautiful sight of Arcadia Bay tonight."

"Really? Thanks Warren, sounds good" she smiled at him, relieved that he wasn't cross with her.

"So, I'm curious, where is the most beautiful sight of Arcadia Bay then?"

"Right in front of me, to be honest." Warren said and grinned sheepishly.

"What do you- oh…" Max's heart seemed to skip a beat when she fully realised what he had said. Blushing madly, she tried to find an answer for his compliment.

"Max, I'm sorry, that was really cheesy." Warren laughed, his cheeks turning so red Max could see it even in the dark.

"Yeah, it kinda was." She tried to laugh, too "But thank you anyways."

A few seconds passed in awkward silence while they tried not to look at each other. When Warren spoke again, Max felt her heart beat fiercely. Never had a boy told her she was beautiful, and although it sure was a quite cheesy line, Warren had sounded honest. She smiled lightly when their eyes met.

"Okay, so uhm… yeah I actually have this one, uhm, I wouldn't call it secret, but I have this place where I often go, it's really nice, if you want to, we could buy something to eat and then go there, maybe?"

"Yeah, I'd love to."

Walking through the town, they were discussing what to get for dinner. Max still thought about his compliment, but Warren acted quite normally again. Wondering whether he said stuff like this to all of his friends, Max studied his face. When they entered the supermarket to buy some sandwiches, she decided to give it a rest. She could worry about that tomorrow. It wasn't even such a big thing, was it? Maybe he had been joking, nothing more…  
When they left with their food, they chatted as normally as they always did. Warren told her some funny stories about his newest adventures in _World of Warcraft_ and while he led the way down to the beach, Max smiled at the back of his head, feeling like it would be a nice evening.


	6. At the beach

_A/N: Hello everyone! I'm really sorry I didn't update for so long! I hope you'll like the new chapter though :) I'm not sure whether I should continue with this story, I feel like we almost reached the point where the game starts. But if you want to read more, I think I'll just include the story of the game. Sorry again it took me so long, thanks for all the kind reviews, and now have fun reading the new chapter :)_

Feeling the wind blow lightly through her hair, Max focused on the back of Warren's head. It was really dark now, and the way they took was only dimly lit. She could feel hard stone steps under her feet and the salty air told her they were close to the sea. A crunching sound startled Max for a second, before she noticed that the last few steps were covered in wet, slippery sand. Some moments later, Warren stopped and turned around. She couldn't really see his face, but he reached out his hand to guide her down safely. He really was a gentleman. Max gladly took his warm hand in hers and when they touched, she could feel a familiar shiver down her spine. Holding hands a bit longer than necessary, Max and Warren walked slowly down the beach in silence. Warren came to a halt in front of a well-worn bench. It was standing in the middle of the beach, a few planks were broken, and the only source of light was a flickering campfire some teens had lit a fair way off.

Warren studied Max with a nervous look on his face.

"Uhm, sorry, it's a bit dark now… we should have been here a bit earlier, it's the perfect spot to see the sunset, but - … Do you want to go back?"

"No it's cool, I love the beach and the sea!"

The honesty in Max's voice seemed to calm Warren down. They both sat down and listened to the surge of waves, eating their sandwiches and chatting about science projects, classmates and laughing about random rumours. After a while, Warren faced Max and his tone became quite serious again.

"Max, can I ask you something?"

Max smiled lightly. She had waited for him to ask why she wouldn't enter the _Two Whales Diner_.

"You want to know why we couldn't go to the _Two Whales_ , right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Yeaaah, that's what I wanted to ask." Warren gave a small laugh.

Wondering where she should start, Max wasn't noticing the surprise and insecurity in Warren's voice. Should she tell him everything? Wouldn't that be boring? No, he deserved the whole story. He was someone she could trust. He wouldn't blame her for leaving Chloe. Or would he?

Max plucked up enough courage to tell Warren how she and Chloe became best friends, how William died and how she left the town and never even wrote a letter or a message to her friend. Telling the story was worse than she had expected, feelings of guilt bubbling in her stomach, making her sick. Those friends she had had in Seattle never knew about Chloe, so Warren was actually the first one she ever shared her story with. He had been listening quietly, never interrupting her, and when Max finished talking, he put his warm, soft hand on her shoulder.

"Max, look at me."

Shyly, Max raised her head and was surprised to see Warren smile. He was close to her, his face was close, and she couldn't help but take a peek at his lips. How would it feel to kiss them?

"Max, I understand why you're upset about that." Warren continued.

 _Upset? What? Oh, yeah, Chloe._ Trying to arrange her thoughts, Max smiled wryly and nodded at Warren. His hand was still resting on her shoulder and _god_ , it made her dizzy.

"I know, it's not cool if you lose contact with your close friends. But it's not just your fault, isn't it? I mean, did Chloe ever try to contact you?"

Feeling encouraged by the fact that Warren didn't sound reproachful, Max started to speak again.

"No she didn't." she sighed "But she just lost her father and they were so close, she really loved him, I know she was totally depressed. So I should have been the one to make sure she's okay and ask her if she needs anything. I'm such a loser, Warren."

"No Max, you're not! I know you feel really bad about everything, but I'm sure Chloe will forgive you! Just talk to her when you're ready, okay? I'm sure she'll be glad to have you back!"

Max smiled. It was nice to see how concerned Warren was.

"Yeah, I will. I promise."

"Great! And Max, thanks for telling me."

"Uhm, you're… welcome?" Max gave a surprised laugh.

"Yeah I just… telling me that stuff about Chloe shows me that you, I don't know – It's nice to know you trust me enough to tell me things that bother you."

Max looked into Warren's dark brown eyes. God, he really was the nicest boy she had ever known. She caught him staring at her slightly opened lips, just like she had been looking at his before. Was he, too, wondering how it felt like if they'd just kiss now? Max slowly raised her hand, slowly moving it towards Warren's arm, ready to touch it -

"GIMME THAT BACK YOU BASTARD!"

A loud voice made Max and Warren jump up from the bench, ruining the tender moment they almost shared.

"Ugh, it's just one of those pre-teens over there. Damn, they nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Warren shook his head and turned to Max who quickly tried to hide her disappointment.

"It's getting late, should we go back to the dorm?" Warren asked, eyeing Max carefully. She was still staring at the teens. They were now starting to sing and yell, and on the one hand, Max was quite glad she could leave them with their light beer. On the other hand, she would have been happier if they had decided to get loud a few minutes later.

* * *

The bus drive back to Blackwell seemed to be over immediately, and while Warren made a few stupid jokes and talked about a great horror movie he had just watched, Max drifted off. She still wasn't sure what she saw in Warren. Or actually, she wasn't sure what he saw in her. True, he had flirted with her sometimes, but wasn't that something boys at that age tried with every girl? Yet Warren didn't seem to be that type of a guy. Lost in her thoughts, Max almost didn't realise when they reached the boys dormitory.

"My lady, it was an honour to spend time with you tonight." Warren joked, making a silly curtsey and showing his white teeth in a bright smile. Max giggled.

"It's always nice to hang out with you, Warren. And thanks for listening to me about all that stuff with Chloe."

"It was a pleasure."

Max smiled and finally, this time even without thinking about it, gave Warren a hug.

"See you in science class." She said when she let go of him.

"Yeah… see you there." Warren answered, smiling down at her, before both of them made their way back to their dorms.


End file.
